Designer vs Interior Decorator

[baileyuph]

This post is prompted by recent and ongoing discussions using these terms: 

I have looked up Webster's definition of these two terms and the scope of designing seems to be totally different from interior decorating.  Which leads to the general question,  isn't the term designing for redoing a piece of furniture or the decorating of a room a technical error to call that designing?

In the car world, a car designer is a lot more than changing color and the lines of maybe interiors.  It really gets down to the basic engineering of the interior.

An easy way to be able to relate to the difference between the two would help in relating to the two terms.

Doyle

[mike802]

I would think a designer would be more interested in, for example traffic flow, take a kitchen, how the kitchen is used, how work flows from beginning a meal, to it's completion.  The decorator would be more interested in color, textures and the overall theme and feel of the room.  One thing I do know, is if you call a designer a decorator they get real pissy.

[sofadoc]

I think the term "designer" is more chic these days. It's like the difference between "used car", and "pre-owned". Or the way Gene jokingly refers to his shop as his "studio". They may prefer to be called interior designers, but the truth is, most of them are plain old "run of the mill" decorators (and not even very good ones, at that).
A customer was trying to tell me how to get to her house. I knew the area she was talking about, so I asked "Is it a trailor house?". She snapped at me "NO! It isn't a trailor house! It's a mobile home!"

You say tomAto, I say TOMahTO.

[byhammerandhand]

Gene and I have a mutual customer whose husband is frequently seen on TV selling cars.    He always says, "ve-HICK-el"

You say tomAto, I say TOMahTO.

[sofadoc]

Gene and I have a mutual customer whose husband is frequently seen on TV selling cars.    He always says, "ve-HICK-el"

I don't say it that way myself, but that pronunciation is very common in these parts.
I had a decorator that moved to town from up north. She called me about doing a "SHAY-LONG" (that's how she pronounced it".  It took me a few seconds, then I said "Oh, you mean a "Chaise lounge"?
Sarcastically, she said (with an uppity tone) "Oh yes, I forgot I'm in TEXAS now.......yes......a CHASE LOUNGE.

[kodydog]

Last week we got a call from the local community collage for an estimate. We have given two in house estimates to them before. Showing fabric samples, measuring for yardage, the whole nine yards. But we never get the job. Last week a lady calls from the collage and wants an estimate. OK fine, this time lets do it by e-mail. No problem. But she kept asking me questions that only a designer would ask. So at the end of the call I asked if she was a decorator. Oops! She informed me she was an interior designer.

So two Questions,
Why didn't she identify herself when I answered the phone? Makes me think of sofas post last week.
And what the heck is a small, publicly funded, community collage doing hiring a decorator?  :(  We did work for the U of Florida and the people their managed to pick out their own fabric.

I think the difference between decorator and designer is price. I use both terms on the forum but will have to watch myself on the phone.

[sofadoc]

A decorator that I've done business with since the 80's came in the shop today. I asked her where she stood on the decorator/designer thing.
She laughed. She said it all depends on how deep the customer's pockets are. For upscale clients, she's a designer. For the more middle-class customers, she's a decorator. She said that the first time she even heard of the term "designer", was on the sitcom "Designing Women".

[bobbin]

Technically it's properly called a "chaise longue".  It's French and the pronunciation is "shez long" with a long "G", one that you actually pronounce.  It means "long chair".  Et, oui, je parle francais.  Mais, je cherche mes mots et mes oreilles preferent d'ecouter en anglais (And, yes, I speak french.  But I look for my words and my ears prefer to listen in english).  And I don't know how to properly insert the important accents required by the beautiful French language.  :(

The difference between "decorators" and "designers" has to do with certification and a licensing exam.  Anyone can be a "decorator", but you must complete course work and pass an exam to earn the "designer" certification.  That's why confusing the two terms tends to elicit a"pissy" reaction.  And, yes, the "design" aspect has a lot to do with knowing the requirements for things like handicap accessibility, etc..   

That said, I've worked for designers that are fabulous and some that are simply capable.  And I've worked for decorators who have more innate color sense and artistic capability than fully certified designers; they listen well, know how to delegate parts of a project that are beyond their skill, and clearly state that they work with aesthetics, not technical details.  The best are usually older and have worked in the field for years and they're usually students of history and the evolution of  interior decoration.  In general though, my experience has been that designers tend to be more methodical and organized in their approach to composing a room.  They are trained to put together "story boards" and provide samples to their client.   

[byhammerandhand]

from WIkipedia  (emphasis mine)
"A chaise longue (French pronunciation: [ʃɛzlɔ̃ŋɡ(ə)], "long chair") is an upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to support the legs.

It is sometimes written as "chaise lounge", which has persisted so strongly in the United States that it is no longer considered incorrect there, and can even be found in its dictionaries[1] (an example of folk etymology).

In modern French the term chaise longue can refer to any long reclining chair such as a deckchair. In the United States the term lounge chair is also used to refer to any long reclining chair."

One of my clients, who has been in the furniture business for 40 years always takes pain to pronounce "armoire" as "arm-WWWah"
(this is the same store that pronounced one of their finish colors "Noyer" as Noy-yer, not Noi-yeh (Walnut in French).)


I once worked with a very intelligent guy from England.  Someone once said, "You must pronounce foreign words they way they would be pronounced in their native tongue."  He immediately quipped, "Well, then, how do you pronounce, 'Paris,' or the capitols of Italy and Switzerland, or the country that is next to Finland?"

What about bedroom suit  aka bedroom suite and which way to pronounce it?  Spelled suite and pronounced suit?

http://www.kirkmahoney.com/blog/2009/02/bedroom-suit/

[bobbin]

I worked hard to learn enough of a second language to become conversational in it (I read it, too).  It wasn't easy and it's even more of a struggle to keep it up, let alone improve my nascent ability in our insular country, where we seem to persist in the belief that english is king.  I am fortunate that there are many francophones in my immediate area and that Quebec, Canada is a few hours drive north.  I even get TV in french!  Moreover, I benefit routinely from helpful Canadian neighbors visiting my area who take the time to speak with me in their lovely, lilting, and evocative tongue (and they speak "proper french" but their accent is different, just as it varies within the boundries of France!).  I wince whenever I hear "suite" pronounced, "suit".  If you were taught phonics it's pretty clear that the "e" at the end of the word changes the pronunciation! but I digress...

[sofadoc]

I took French  in high school. We mostly learned how to bake Bouche de Noel, dance the "Can-can", and tons of other gay activities. We  spent very little time in the textbook. My old French teacher still comes in my shop every now and then. I've asked her why we didn't spend more time learning the language. She doesn't seem to remember it that way.

[bobbin]

I started French in 7th. grade.  By the completion of the year I was speaking, reading, and writing in 3 ( of the 14!) tenses in the French language.  We began by learning the basic (and very irregular in conjugation) verbs of the French language and committing them to memory.  Every time we began a "new" tense it was with those most basic verbs.  I learned more about grammar in French than I ever did in "English", lol.  On a lark I took the Achievement Test in French and received 4 college credits for my score... never had to take a foreign language in college having fulfilled the requirement with a test.  The shame was, I should have taken the class and continued in that study but the focus was on math/science and I had that pesky "language requirement" out of the way!  I was repeatedly told there was "no future" in a language major, even though that was one thing that I really loved.  Isn't it funny how your gut can tell you things that are important but they're so easily drowned out by "grown ups"?  (I wanted to learn to weld and shoe horses, too.).

One of my friends (from Ecuador) always told me to learn Spanish, telling me that is was a lot easier than French (her second of 6 languages!).  I may just do that as a way to remember what an inspiration she was to me...

Political statement of the day:  every kid in this country of ours ought to be fluent in at least one (preferably 2!) languages.  And we need to start in kindergarten... the way they do in Europe.  Oh, and that would be in addition to ASL (American Sign Language). 

[sofadoc]

It's projected that by 2030, Hispanics will be the majority here in Texas. Who knows? The whole "Alamo" thing may come full circle.
I guess I better practice saying "El chaso loungo" :D

[bobbin]

Cervantes was most eloquent and a wonderful story teller!

[byhammerandhand]

I have to chuckle when I hear the current Target commercial, Allouette.   If they only knew what the words meant :-)